When the boys are away
by jeffs
Summary: Summary . . . Kagome, at her first archery tournament, and Akane, who has been drafted into the archery club, meet and have an adventure. Somebody gets kidnaped . . . Kagome & Akane injurred will someone help them?
1. Default Chapter

When the boys are away . . .   
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story . . .   
  
A Kagome and Akane adventure . . .   
  
Summary . . . Kagome, at her first archery tournament, and Akane, who has been drafted into the archery club, meet and have an adventure. Somebody gets kidnaped . . .   
  
Chapter 1  
  
Furinkan high near the girls locker room . . .   
  
"Get the Freak!" "Pervert!" "Dirty Old Man!" The girls of Furinkan are chasing Happousai again.  
  
But this time . . .   
  
"Argghh . . . " Tripping on one of the weapons that missed him, a girl falls down. She hits the ground hard, twisting her ankle and wrist trying to stop her fall as she lands. "Ouch . . . "  
  
Akane and a few other girls stop and help her. "You, ok?"  
  
"My wrist, my ankle . . . " She moans.  
  
"Let's get her to the nurse."  
  
"Happousai . . . " Akane growls out as she easily picks up the girl.  
  
Later at the nurses room . . .   
  
"Well, she's got a twisted ankle and a sprained wrist, some scraps on her knees and elbows. Nothing serious, but it'll be a couple of weeks on crutches and having her wrist wrapped." The nurse says to the waiting girls, including Akane.  
  
"OH! That's bad . . . " One of the girls says.  
  
"Akane! You've got to help!" another girl begs her.  
  
"Help?" Akane asks.  
  
"She's the captain of the Archery club and there's a tournament this weekend! We need somebody to replace her!" the girl replies, excitedly.  
  
"Yeah, Akane can use a bow and she'll be great at it!" Another girl says to the group in general.  
  
"Yeah, Akane would be great!"   
  
Akane, grimaces, she can see she's not going to have much choice here. She sighs, and thinks, 'It was Happousai's fault and he is a, a, I'm not going to call him a guest in our house, but, this is somehow, I'm sure it's my fault too, so . . . '  
  
"Ok, girls. I'll do it." She says with resignation in her voice.  
  
"Yeah!" the girls yell.  
  
'Besides, Ranma and his father are off chasing another, probably fake, cure and it is boring now. Probably the reason Happousai was here anyway, to relieve his boredom.' Akane thinks.  
  
By the well in the feudal time . . .   
  
"Inu-yasha, please understand, I'm trying to help and I need to spend some extra time on my side of the well . . . " Kagome begs with the beginning of tears in her eyes.  
  
"No, Wench. Three days is it." Inu-yasha growls out.  
  
"Inu-yasha. I've joined the archery club, so I can get better. And they are participating in an archery tournament this weekend. I need to attend, please, Inu-yasha." She begs.  
  
"NO. You can't stay that long."   
  
"Inu-yasha . . . please. I don't want to use the word . . . but, I would have thought you would have liked me getting better with the bow." Kagome finishes with tears in her eyes.  
  
Inu-yasha's face twists, she's got a reason that he's finding hard to refuse, and he's having to think about an excuse to deny her.  
  
"Please, Inu-yasha, I promise I'll be back right after the tournament." She wipes the tears from her eyes.  
  
"Feh. Do what you will." Inu-yasha turns around to walks off.  
  
Sigh . . . 'I wish I knew what goes through his mind sometimes . . . ' Kagome thinks as she jumps down the well.  
  
The day of the tournament . . .   
  
Author's note: I will be using Olympic rules, not traditional Japanese rules. And I will be using them only as basis for the structure of the story. If I change or make a mistake with the rules, it is to improve the enjoyment of the story. I am not trying to be totally exact on the rules.  
  
I'm doing this for a couple of reasons, but the main reasons, I could find rules for Olympic contests, but what I could find on traditional Japanese contests, were somewhat vague. The rules are 64 place single elimination tournament. (64 start, 32 next round, then 16, then 8, then 4 and finally 2) Best score after a number of arrows win. The number of arrows varies depending on the round. Women use 15kg pull bows.   
  
The tournament is being held an indoor stadium, so there are bleachers with fans sitting in them. The contestants will wear a traditional white Gi.  
  
"First Tournament?" a girl asks Kagome as she looks around.  
  
"Yes. I just joined the archery club." Kagome replies.  
  
"Good, I'll help you." And Kagome and the girl talk about the rules and what normally happens.   
  
Kagome shoots a few practice arrows. 'This bow is weaker than the one I use on the other side of the well. But, that's probably a good thing. I need to learn more about trajectories, wind allowances (not that I'll learn that indoors), and a stronger bow, isn't as affected by that.' She thinks as she practices.   
  
She's beginning to get comfortable, when a disturbance attracts her attention. A young woman, a year or two older than her, has entered the arena. One of the bleacher sections starts to chant and wave signs. They shout, "Akane!" and the signs say "GO AKANE!"   
  
She waves, somewhat slowly at them. A tall, thin young man wearing very traditional clothes, is leading the cheers. Once she appears to acknowledge him, the young man charges her, pulling out a huge bouquet of red roses as he runs, and he yells, "My Love, My Akane!"   
  
As he is about to engulf her in a hug, Kagome sees the young man suddenly fly many meters in the air and land, heavily, against the wall. "Kuno! Stop it!" the young woman yells as she lowers her fist.  
  
Kuno gets up, and he says, "that did not hurt." He staggers a bit, but then goes over to the judges pulling, out of somewhere, a huge bowcase.  
  
"Hi! I"m Tendo Akane. Sorry about that." Akane says as she approaches Kagome. "It looks like we'll be shooting next to other." She goes over to position next to Kagome's, but not on the side of where Kagome's competitor is standing.   
  
"Hi! I"m Higurashi Kagome. Yes, Although, it doesn't look like well shot against each other." Kagome says.   
  
"Nope, you two girls, unless for some odd reason you reach the finals, you two will not meet in the brackets." A passing judge says.   
  
"Good, then, we can talk and not have to worry about shooting against each other, since there's no way I'm going to make it to the final." Kagome says smiling.  
  
They are about to start talking, but Kuno and several judges come over. They start arguing and yelling about what bow Akane will use.   
  
Kagome is trying to follow along but, her three friends come up and start talking to her. "Kagome, do you know who that is?" Eri aks.  
  
"Yes, her name is Tendo Akane. What's so special?" she points to the arguing crowd.  
  
"Yes, from Furinkan High. Kagome." Ayumi says. Kagome gets a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"Furinkan! Kagome, I know you've been absent a lot, but, you have to have heard about all the fights and damage there." Yuka says with expiration in her voice.  
  
'Furinkan, hmmm . . . Now I remember. The last time I talked with my math teacher about my grades, he warned me, unless I shape up, I could be sent there . . . ' Kagome thinks as she remembers.  
  
"You mean, she's . . . " Kagome says to her friends.  
  
"Yes, she's one of those martial artists you hear about." Eri says.  
  
"Yeah, I'm not too sure which stories are real or not, but she's involved." Yuka says.  
  
"SO, Kagome, don't get on her bad side, who knows what might happen . . . " As Ayumi says this . . . a yell and the sound of Akane's fist uppercutting Kuno's jaw occur. Kuno flies out of the crowd around Akane and lands in front of the Furinkan bleachers.  
  
"You . . . you . . . Idiot! I wanted this . . . " Akane pushes her way through the crowd, grabs up a random bow and a couple of arrows and shots them at Kuno. They hit the sleeves of the clothes, pinning him against the bleaches. "Stay there! Don't interfere any more!" Akane yells as she hands the bow back to the stunned girl she took it from.  
  
Kagome and her friends exchange glances . . .   
  
Akane returns to her spot carrying a new bow. It is much larger and just looking at it, it is obvious that it is much more powerful than any of the other bows.  
  
"That . . . Kuno. I really wish he'd leave me alone." She mumbles under her breath, squeezing her fists, trying to get the anger down. She looks around and sees the expressions on Kagome and her friends faces.  
  
Akane sighs, and she says, "I'm sorry, but Kuno has used his influence to alter the rules. I have to use this bow." She holds up and shakes it. "And I had hoped . . . " she shakes her head. Sigh. "It's not going to be fair to everyone else, but. Once he's used his families' influence . . . "  
  
There is a delay as the judges and the team mangers get together to talk and argue about Kuno and his influence. After a short, but loud discussion, Akane's bow is approved and she will use it.  
  
While this is going on, Nabiki approaches Kagome's three friends. "I noticed that you three are friends with her." She is pointing at Kagome, who is standing several meters away getting ready to begin to shoot her first arrows. "Want to bet on her matches?"  
  
They look at each other, and "Well, I suppose. She is our friend and we should support her . . . " Ayumi says.  
  
Nabiki smiles, and thinks, 'more suckers, I mean this is that Higurashi's girls first tournament, she'll lose the first time. I've never heard about her.'  
  
After that, the tournament starts. In between rounds, Kagome and Akane do start to talk and begin to make friends with each other.   
  
Kagome points out and waves to her mother, grandfather and little brother, who are watching. "My family, see"  
  
Akane points out her father, and two sisters, who are here as well. "Mine's there."  
  
"What's up with that Kuno person?" Kagome asks.   
  
Sigh, "He's an idiot, a major idiot. He wants to take me on dates and such." Akane says with disgust in her voice.  
  
"But the roses?"  
  
"Oh, he always has them, and other gifts."  
  
'That doesn't sound that bad, I mean, what would I give for Inu-yasha to hand me some roses and ask me to go out on a nice date.' Kagome thinks.  
  
"Why then are you refusing them? I mean, if my . . . a friend of mine would do that, I'd be happy." Kagome asks.  
  
"He just will not take 'no' for an answer. I've told him over and over again. I've pounded him into the ground. I don't know how many times and still" That last word in a very angry tone. " He doesn't listen." Akane finishes with an angry expression on her face.  
  
Kagome looks for Kuno and finds him on the bleachers. He's apparently yelling at one of the students sitting there for not cheering Akane's name loud enough. 'Hmm, like Miroku, perhaps, though, why is she getting that upset. You say no, or slap him and he goes away, right? Oh, well, if he's like that, then I'd take Miroku over this Kuno. Besides, he does seem to be an idiot. We just treat people differently, I suppose.' Kagome thinks as she turns to look at Akane.  
  
'I really need to calm down, if I'm going to shoot well, perhaps, if I change the subject, she did seem a bit hesitant about that friend.' Akane thinks.  
  
Akane, after a short pause, says, "What about you, Kagome, do you have a boyfriend?"  
  
Kagome pales, 'I can't talk about Inu-yasha . . . ' she thinks in a small panic.  
  
Kagome looks around, Hojo's supposed to be here, but she doesn't see him, so she says, "Well, I do have, I suppose. His name's Hojo."  
  
"Is he here?"  
  
"I don't see him."  
  
"Is he a good boyfriend? I mean does he take you on nice quiet dates. No funny business, I mean." Akane asks with a slight smile. She can see Kagome beginning to sweat.   
  
"Oh, Hojo? Yes, the few dates we've been on he has been the perfect gentleman." Kagome says with a slight blush.   
  
'He sounds like a nice guy. What I would give for a nice quiet date with Ranma . . . ' Akane thinks, then she asks in a soft growl. "No extra girlfriends or finances?"  
  
"Huh? Hojo? You're kidding. Nothing like that." Kagome replies in surprise. 'What an odd question . . . ' she thinks.  
  
Kagome, sighs, looks around one last time, still no Hojo and her three friends are busy talking with Nabiki. She says in a soft voice, so just Akane can hear. "He's just a very boring guy, ok. I keep wishing he'd find someone else to bore to death."  
  
"Oh. I see." Akane says. 'I've meet guys like that. Sigh. It would be boring and I'd walk all over him. He'd just agree to whatever I say. And boring . . . I've never liked boring...'  
  
"Girls. Stop Talking. The next match is starting." One of the judges announces.  
  
"Sorry, sir." "Sorry, sir." they bow to him.  
  
Kagome makes it to the quarter-final round of eight, but loses in a close match.   
  
"Rats, Eri, why did you tell that Nabiki to let our winnings ride. We could have walked away with a lot money."  
  
"Yeah, from the stories I've heard, that's a hard thing to do with her." Yuka adds.  
  
"Come on girls, we have to support Kagome. And she doing a lot better than anyone thought she'd do." Eri explains.  
  
'Yes, I wonder where she got the time to practice, I mean with her illnesses and such.' Eri thinks as the three friends argue among themselves.  
  
'I almost lost a big one, there. If I hadn't conned that girl into letting their winnings' ride . . . I've got to recheck my sources. They never said anything about this Higurashi girl. She's good, very good and somehow that slipped by.' Nabiki thinks as she watches Kagome. 'And, those sources are going to pay for being wrong . . . '  
  
Once Kagome loses, she can look around and pay closer attention to the techniques of the other archers.   
  
But, as she looks around, an old man in a wheelchair, being pushed by a large, muscular man, catches her attention for a second, but she dismisses the dark forbidding feeling she has when she looks at him. 'This is the modern age and it's the middle of the afternoon, in a crowded building, not the other side of the well. I'm just tried from all the arrows I've shot.' She thinks as she looks past them.   
  
'I am learning by coming here.' She thinks. 'Many of the girls know more about how to use a bow than I do and watching them is educational. Even though, I did much better than I thought I would . . . '  
  
After she drops out of the tournament, Kagome asks to try out Akane's bow. Akane hands it over and Kagome tries to use it.   
  
'The bow I've used in this tournament is half, maybe only a third, as powerful as the one I normally use. This, on the other hand, is at least three times as powerful as what I use on the other side of the well.' She thinks as she pulls on the bowstring.  
  
She hands it back to Akane, "Too powerful for me, I'm afraid."  
  
"Yes, though, you did better with it than I thought you would." Akane replies as she takes back the bow.  
  
The captain of Kagome's team makes it wins her quarter-final round, but loses the semifinal to Akane.   
  
Kagome concentrates on Akane's technique as Akane wins her semifinal round. 'That bow and her strength . . . there's no technique, just raw power. I never thought I'd meet any regular human that would come close to Sango's strength in my time. But . . . I wonder what a sparing match between the two of them would be like . . . ' she thinks.   
  
Akane makes it to the final round and meets the Kolkhoz highschool captain.  
  
The Kolkhoz captain is a master with the bow. The zen saying about a warrior being one with your weapon fits her perfectly.  
  
Akane, on the hand, well . . . Her powerful bow allows her to ignore any subtly and just shoot arrows as straight as a laser beam.  
  
The Kolkhoz captain fires her last arrow and for Akane too win, she'll need to hit the bulls' eye.   
  
Akane pulls back on the bowstring, her face twisted as she concentrates on the target, pulls the string back, back passed her ear, back . . .   
  
"Crack!" Suddenly Akane is holding pieces of wood in her hands. She's broken the bow . . .   
  
"I've got to win! Get me another bow! I'm not going to let Ranma make fun of me for coming in second!" she yells in frustration as she throws the broken bow down.  
  
There is a scramble around Akane as people hunt for a bow. Kagome picks up hers and is about to hand it to her, when . . .   
  
Two big meaty hands grab her and throw her against a wheelchair. "Huh! What you are" Thump! Kagome collapses unconscious over the chair. The large man that she saw earlier has grabbed her and knocked her out.  
  
"What!" "Stop that!" "Who do you think you are?!" "Security!" the people around Kagome scream.  
  
'What! A kidnaping! And . . . I'm not being kidnaped, how odd . . . ' Akane thinks as she pushes her way to front of the crowd.  
  
"OK, Idiot! Put my friend down and I will not hurt you!" Akane yells as she goes into her standard attack position.  
  
The crowds, including the security guards, quickly move away from the wheelchair, the large man and Akane.  
  
Akane and the large man start to fight. He is skilled. But, it's his much greater reach causes the most problems for Akane. (Think Ranma vs. Mouse, the first time) But after a couple of exchanges, Akane thinks, 'I'll let him hit me and get under his guard that way. I can take it. He's not that strong. And once I'm close . . . ' she smiles nastily.  
  
But while the two of them are fighting, the old man in the wheelchair has removed the necklace from Kagome. He places the shard on his forehead and as he does that, things change . . .   
  
The wheelchair, it is one of the new futuristic looking ones with plenty of electronics, changes shape. It moves around him, like body armor. It changes into some sort of mecha-armor as it grows around him. The mecha looks similar to some of the pictures from the old american Aliens movies, but more mechanical in appearance.   
  
"Got You!" Akane's fist hits the large man in the pit of his stomach. His body folds over her fist and collapses onto the ground, spewing vomit as he falls unconscious.  
  
Akane smiles, the black eye she'll have tomorrow is a small price to pay for winning, and she looks for Kagome.  
  
By this time, the mecha is standing up, with Kagome slung over one shoulder. It is starting to move away.  
  
"Stop right there! You! I do not know what going on, but! I'm going to stop you!" Akane yells as she jumps over the mecha and lands in front of him. She quickly goes into her attack position.   
  
She attacks, but the mecha sweeps with his fist and knocks her into the wall. Akane falls to the ground unconscious.  
  
End chap 1  
  
Writing combat scenes is not my strength... but hopefully I'm getting the idea across.  
  
Reviews and/or comments would be appreciated.  
  
on my profile page, I have a list of story ideas, that I'm thinking about doing. Getting additional opinions on which stories to do would be appreciated.  
  
Ch 2 might take a couple of weeks, before I post it, but we'll see.  
  
thank you for reading  
  
jeff shelton 


	2. the big fight

ch 2  
  
Hopefully the combat sequence will work...  
  
________________________  
  
"Arg . . . that hurt." Akane mumbles as she wakes up. She shakes her head to clear it of the cobwebs and starts to get up.  
  
"Akane, you're hurt, don't get up" Kasumi says as she kneels next to her sister.  
  
"It's nothing Kasumi. I've been hurt worse." Akane says as she gets up. "I just wasn't prepared properly. Now where is that thing." She says as she looks around Kasumi.  
  
There is a large hole in one of the walls, obviously made by the mecha as it left. On the path to the hole are several unconscious security guards. Kuno and Akane's father are also lying on the floor unconscious. There is still a lot of confusion around the stadium. Many people are running around trying to either get out, get help and just get away . . .   
  
"What happened?" she asks her sister.  
  
"Father and Kuno tried to stop it, but . . . "  
  
"How long was I out?"  
  
"About five minutes, ten minutes at most, sis." Nabiki says as she approaches.   
  
"Good. I can find it and beat it then." Akane growls out. 'I'm going to beat it. Ranma isn't going to laugh at me for losing a match.' She thinks.  
  
"Here, little sister, for luck." Kasumi says as she takes off her necklace with a Christian cross hanging from it.  
  
"Thanks, Kasumi." Akane smiles as she says confidently, "I mean, I not the one being kidnaped this time, so I will beat the thing, right!" Akane starts to leave.  
  
"Hey, you! You're going after my sister right!" Sota yells as he runs to Akane.  
  
"Yes, I am."  
  
"Good, you're going to need this." Sota hands Akane his sister's bow and a quiver with some arrows in it.  
  
"My sister always gets kidnaped, and she'll need this to help you." He says as he places the bow in Akane's hands.  
  
Akane looks at him, "your sister's been kidnaped before?"  
  
"Yeah, it's normally Inu-yasha that saves her. Mom's gone home to try to get him. But if you're going now . . . " Sota says, then with big puppy dog eyes he says, "can I come? I'll get on your back and I can help, I've done it before."  
  
'Inu-yasha will come and save the day, like always, and I want to see him beat that thing.' Sota thinks.  
  
Akane looks confused for a second but she cannot say no to those puppy dog eyes, "I'm going to regret this, but, jump on, hold onto that bow. If you fall off, I'm not stopping."  
  
Sota quickly jumps on Akane's back and they leave the building.  
  
"OK, People! Who wants to bet about what will happen next!" Nabiki yells.  
  
Kasumi shakes her head. 'Sisters, what would I do without them.' She thinks as she smiles.   
  
The mecha left an easy to follow trail. It goes into a nearby factory area. There are many buildings and the trail of damage fades, so Akane is not sure into which building the mecha entered.  
  
Akane motions Sota to get off her back, "Get off, I'm going to lift you up so you can look through that window." She points to a nearby building.  
  
"Ok, no problem." He says.   
  
"By the way, what's your name again. Kagome only mentioned it once." Akane asks as she lifts him up.  
  
"I'm Sota, her brother. You're Tendo Akane, right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good, when I grow up, I want to be just like Ranma, your finance." He says, then he says, "Nothing in here."  
  
"How did you . . . "  
  
"All the boys and girls were gossiping about it."  
  
"Grrr. Great. Wonderful." she says in a flat voice. "Hang on. I'm going over to that one." Her arms being filled with Sota, she points at the other building with her head.  
  
"Yes! Something's happening in here, Akane!" He yells as he looks through the dirty glass at the new building. "You've got to see it!"   
  
"Ok, drop that bow and hang onto the window ledge with both hands." Sota does this. Akane catches the bow and arrows before they hit the ground. She jumps up and grabs the ledge and pulls herself up so she can look through the window.  
  
Inside the dirty window she sees...   
  
The mecha has grown, it is now, it's at least five meters tall, perhaps more. Kagome has been laid out on some sort of metal gird. Her arms and legs tied to the gird, somehow. A couple of small man-sized mecha are also standing around.  
  
  
  
Akane and Sota can see various metal and electronic items being placed under Kagome. A glowing beam from the shard in the mecha's forehead engulfs Kagome and the other items. When the glow fades a new mecha is standing under Kagome. It moves over to stand with the other mecha.  
  
"Yes! It works! I will conqueror the world!" the large mecha booms go out in a huge gravely voice.  
  
"Ok..." Akane whispers as she looks around.  
  
"Ok, Sota, you still want to help?"  
  
"Yeah." Sota shivers, Inu-yasha isn't here yet and he's a little frightened.   
  
"OK, there's a broken window over there." She points with her head. "I'll lift you up and you can slide through."  
  
"Ok, what do I do then?"  
  
"Sneak up, as close as you can, to your sister. I'll be watching and when you're spotted, I'll attack. You, then, free your sister."  
  
"And then..."  
  
"And then we'll see what happens next."  
  
"Do I take along my sisters bow and arrows?"  
  
"If you really think they'd help, yeah." Akane says as she drops down. "Drop. I'll catch you."  
  
"Ok" Sota drops down. He picks up the bow and arrows and they move to the broken window. AKane lifts him up and he slides through the broken window. Akane jumps up and watches as he slowly picks his way across the factory floor.  
  
Outside the building....  
  
A police car stops. The two police officers get out. "That's where the alarm came from."  
  
"Yes, Plus that Alarm from that archery tournament. Something's happening."  
  
One of the police officers points to Akane, how is hanging down against a building.   
  
"Let's get her."  
  
"Wait!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Remember I transferred from Nermia, right."  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"I know her. She's Tendo Akane. And if she's involved, we need to hang back. Weird things happen around her."  
  
"Your sure?"  
  
"Yes, we need to wait for back-up."  
  
"OK"  
  
At the Higurashi house, outside at the front door...  
  
"Sota! Come here!" His mother yells! 'Where is he, I thought he was following me...' she looks around. 'If he went after that thing...'   
  
"If he did something that stupid..." she whispers as she opens the door and enters the house. 'I don't know what I'd do... If he gets hurt... He won't sit down for a week...' She blinks her eyes and stops for a second. 'OK, let's think that through again. IF he gets hurt... I do something...'  
  
In Kagome's room...  
  
'Now where is that bloody cloth Kagome had. She told me and Sota that Inu-yasha smelled her blood in the well the last time and came through because of it. So.. She left a bloody cloth in her drawer, in case we needed to attract his attention...' she thinks as she goes through her daughter's dresser.  
  
"There it is!" She holds up a bloody cloth in a sealed plastic bag.  
  
"Now to the well and Inu-yasha!" She says as she goes to the well.  
  
Back to Akane....  
  
Akane looks around the building. It is old factory and there is plenty of old crates and trash on the floor. Sota should be able to get close before he's spotted. She also sees most old piping and beams on the floor. 'Ok, they may not be a baseball bat. But... I think I'm going to need something."  
  
More metal is moved under Kagome, via a conveyor belt..  
  
"With an army of remote controlled mecha's, I will conqueror the world!" The large mecha booms out.   
  
Then, inclining it's head toward Kagome, it speaks, "After I heard your grandfather one night at the bar. I knew the jewel had been found. I discovered a way to convert it's power into modern technology and using that.... I will get back at all the people that called me a crackpot and insane."   
  
Laughter booms out. "I will conqueror the world!"   
  
'Get to her quickly, Sota, I'm tried of listening to this idiot...' Akane thinks as she tries to follow Sota as he approaches Kagome.  
  
'Where's Inu-yasha? Why isn't he here, yet?' a frightened Sota thinks as he crawls closer to his sister. 'Get here quickly, please...'  
  
Sota stops next to a large crate about five meters from Kagome. He looks back at Akane, he can't get any closer. Akane grimaces. She nods and holds up one hand palm out all five fingers extended. She closes her thumb. Sota nods back. Her pinky folds in. Her ring finger bends in.   
  
Akane nods at Sota. Sota swallows hard and nods back. Akane collapses her middle finger. She takes a deep breath, and makes a fist. She hits the glass with her fist shattering it. Propelled by her other hand she goes through the open window and lands heavily on the factory floor.  
  
"Get Her! Kill Her!" The large mecha yells.  
  
Akane stands up, grabbing a crate as she does. She throws the crate at the large mecha. It shatters on his chest, but the crate was full of some brown powdery substance. This covers the mecha chest and head.   
  
As he cleans his head, his attention is distracted and Sota takes this chance to run to his sister. When he reaches his sister, he sees that Kagome is tied down with plastic twist ties. He takes one of her arrows and cuts the tie.   
  
"Sota! Where's Inu-yasha?" Kagome yells.  
  
"He's not here! Akane, that girl you were standing next to..." He points to Akane as she fights the smaller mechas.  
  
Akane, after throwing the crate, does a flying kick into the nearest small mecha. It overbalances and falls over. She rolls away from it and quickly get to her feet. One of the other mechas swings its fist at her, and hits her. Akane rolls with the punch and when she stands up she has a steel pipe in her hands.   
  
She swings the pipe at the smaller mecha's knee. It takes a couple of hits, but the knee collapses as her pipe shatters in her hands. "Grr.... Pipe..." She growls as she moves away from the two mechas she's caused to fall down. She does another flying kick at the first mecha just as it was rising. As she moves away she can see that the two hits on the head has disabled this one, at least temporarily.   
  
The third small mecha has reached her, by now, and swings at her. She ducks under it and tries to swipe it off it's feet. "Ouch!" She limps away her left leg is hurt from hitting the mecha.   
  
She picks up another crate and throws it against the third mecha. The empty crate shatters against it. "Great!"   
  
She founds another pipe and brings it against the third mecha legs. "Ouch!" the third mecha hits her shoulder causing her to drop the pipe and roll away. But she hurt the knee enough, so that as the mecha chases after her, it limps heavily and falls.  
  
"You two, Ok!" Akane yells as she moves toward the Sota and Kagome.   
  
Sota has freed Kagome by this time and they are running toward Akane. Then they hear, "NO!" the large mecha yells and a beam vaporizes the ground between Akane and Kagome.   
  
"Get out of here! I'll take care of it!" Akane yells as she jumps over the hole and charges the large mecha.  
  
Akane leads heavily, her weaken leg hurting. 'I've got to give them time to escape!' she thinks.  
  
Kagome grabs the bow and arrows from Sota. "Run Sota! Get out of here!" she yells as she stops and turns around. An arrow is in her hand and the she pulls the bowstring back.  
  
She releases her arrow...   
  
The glowing arrow hits the large mecha in the chest, blowing a hole in the large mecha chest. The jewel on the large mechas head glows and a beam hits Kagome, throwing her back many meters, the bow and arrow go flying toward Sota and she crashes into a stack of crates. "Kagome!" Sota yells as he changes direction to help his sister. He picks up the bow and a couple of arrows as he runs  
  
"Kagome!" Akane yells. While watching Kagome shoot she's found a large steel pipe. "I'll beat you!" She swings it against the large mecha, it bounces off his knee. "Grr..." her teeth grits and her anger increases as she swings the pipe even harder. The pipe shatters against the knee of the large mecha, causing only minimal damage.  
  
"DIE!" a beam vaporizes the ground next to Akane. She jumps up and grabs hold of the edge of the hole Kagome made.   
  
'IF I can get inside...' Akane thinks as she pulls herself up. The mecha is healing itself quickly. Akane reaches inside and grabs some wires and pulls them out. The large mecha reaches up, grabs Akane, pulls her off and shakes her, like a cat shakes a mouse.  
  
Sota, meantime, has reached Kagome and is helping her up.   
  
Blood is running down the left-side of her face from a cut on her scalp. Her clothes are torn and blood for various cuts is slowly turning the robe red. A couple of long cuts are on her legs and bruises are already visible. "I can stand, Sota." she grits out as she groans.  
  
The large mecha throws Akane into the same pile of crates the Kagome was blown into. "Duck, Sota!" Kagome pushes her little brother down and to protect him, she falls on top of him.  
  
"HA! HA! HA!" The large mecha booms out. "I will recapture you, Higurashi Kagome, and I will use you to create the army with which I will use to conqueror the world!"  
  
Kagome quickly gets up and looks at Akane.  
  
Akane is in bad shape. Her right leg, at the knee, is either broken or severely dislocated. Blood is already showing brightly on the clothes covering her stomach. Akane's left arm is broken above the elbow. Her face is bruised and cut. Blood is flowing from the cuts in her scalp. "Cheater..." She harshly whispers as she tries to use her right arm to sit up.   
  
"Stay down, Akane!" Kagome cries as she gently shoves her back down. "I"ll handle this."  
  
"Grab Higurashi, mecha. Kill the boy and the other girl." The large mecha orders the only small mecha standing. It's the one the Akane flying kicked twice, so it's head is a little off center, but it's up and it's moving toward Kagome and Akane.  
  
Kagome looks down in her hands. All she has is a bow and two arrows. She swallows hard, and stands up.   
  
She aims one arrow at the small mecha that is approaching and fires. The arrow hits, and the mecha falls to the ground. It's not destroyed, but it is too damaged to stand.  
  
Kagome turns and points the last arrow at the large mecha.  
  
"I'm protected by my western technology against your traditional magic, girl." the mecha announces as he starts to move toward Kagome and Akane. It's so large, however, it has to clear the path first, which will give the girls and Sota a couple of minutes.  
  
Kagome looks around. She, Sota and Kagome are near the center of the factory. She looks at Akane and her condition. 'Can I drag her out, before...' she shakes her head. "Sota run! You can escape, do it!" She yells at her little brother. Sota looks at her, questioningly. "Move Sota!" Sota runs to the window he came through.  
  
"I'll find a way to beat you!" She yells at the large mecha. She draws the arrow back and starts to aim at the head of the mecha. 'Maybe a head shot...' she thinks.  
  
"Kagome..." Akane croaks out.   
  
"Quiet, Akane, I'm trying to do a difficult shot." Kagome says distractively as she tries to aim at the large mechas head. But it is moving and the rafters and wires hanging from the ceiling is making the shot very difficult.  
  
"Kagome, cough, I've got something that can help." Akane gets out, then coughs a couple of times. Blood appears on her lips. Akane reaches inside her shirt and pulls out Kasumi's necklace and cross.   
  
Kagome turns around and looks at Akane, "what?"  
  
"Western tech, western religion..." Akane says as she holds the necklace up.  
  
Kagome relaxes the bow and arrow and grabs the bloody necklace. 'Blood...' she thinks. She takes the arrow and rubs it against her bloody face. She wraps the necklace around the arrow. The cross gleams brightly.  
  
"I've got you, bastard. My magic, blood magic and christian magic..." She pulls back the arrow. Back past her ear. Back...   
  
The arrow is released.....   
  
it glows like a comet.....   
  
  
  
the end of chapter 2....  
  
It was a natural cliffhanger to stop on, sorry...  
  
It'll will probably be a couple of weeks before I post the next part. I am for the Sorry for the delay, but...  
  
on my profile page, I have a list of story ideas, that I'm thinking about doing. Getting additional opinions on which stories to do would be appreciated.  
  
Thank you  
  
jeff shelton 


	3. the finish

Chapter three.  
  
______________________  
  
"Kagome, cough, I've got something that can help." Akane gets out, before she stops to cough a couple of times. Blood appears on her lips. Akane reaches inside her shirt and pulls out Kasumi's necklace and cross.   
  
Kagome turns around and looks at Akane, "what?"  
  
"Western tech, western religion . . . " Akane says as she holds the necklace up.  
  
Kagome relaxes the bow and arrow and grabs the bloody necklace. 'Blood . . . ' she thinks. She takes the arrow and rubs it against her bloody face. She wraps the necklace around the arrow. The cross gleams brightly.  
  
"I've got you, bastard. My magic, blood magic and Christian magic . . . " She pulls back the arrow. Back past her ear. Back . . .   
  
The arrow is released . . .   
  
it glows like a comet . . .   
  
It hits the mecha in the chest . . .   
  
The bright light released forces Kagome, Akane and Sota to close their eyes.  
  
Many seconds pass before the spots in front of their eye's fade enough to see.  
  
The large mecha is gone . . . there is nothing . . .   
  
Kagome's eyes spot a gleam on the floor.   
  
The shard and the cross are laying side by side.  
  
Kagome looks at the three small mechas. They have fallen apart on the floor of the warehouse.  
  
"We Won!" Kagome yells!  
  
"Yeah, cough, We did, and I didn't need Ranma, either . . . " Akane says as she passes out.  
  
"Akane!" Kagome drops the bow and rushes to her side. "I won't let you die." She whispers fiercely. She grabs Akane's hands and a glow envelopes both girls.  
  
"Sota! Get Help!" she yells at her brother.  
  
Sota runs outside. He sees the police car in the distance and runs to it.  
  
As he does that, Inu-yasha crashes through the roof.  
  
"Where's the fucking bastard?" He yells as he lands of the floor, his sword is out and he wants to kill something, anything . . .   
  
*************  
  
Later at the hospital . . .   
  
Akane is laying in the hospital bed. Bandages cover most of her that is visible. She opens her eyes and looks at the mirror that is in one of the upper corners of the room. "I look like Ranma, after one of his adventures." She tries to giggle, but all that comes out is a croaking cough.  
  
"I thought I heard something?" Kasumi mentions as she opens the door. "Ah, you're awake, little sister." Kasumi and Kagome, who is following her, enters the room.   
  
Kagome has a bandage on her face that gives her a pirate-like appearance. Other bandages are visible as bulges under her clothes. Her legs look like she wearing leg warmers, but they are just large bandages. Her clothing is her traditional school uniform, not the robe she wore at the tournament. Obviously her mother has brought her some new clothes.   
  
"How do you feel?" Kasumi asks.  
  
"Agghh. Bad. I hurt all over." Akane gets out. 'I wonder if Ranma hurts this bad. If he does, he'd never admit it.' She thinks.  
  
"Do you need anything, Akane?" Kagome quietly asks.  
  
"Painkillers?" Akane replies.   
  
"The doctors have told me that they've given you the best they can. But, your training means, it'll be a while before they full affect you." Kasumi replies.  
  
"Good. I'm not too proud to ask for them." Akane says. Her eyes open wider, "everything is OK?"  
  
"Yes, Akane. I've got the jewel back. I've given the cross back to your sister. And everything is fine." Kagome sighs. "However, I still have no real idea who the old man was. The police have the man you beat at the tournament. And they are questioning him, but . . . sigh, I don't think they'll tell us anything."  
  
"Cough. When I get out of here, I'll find out, Kagome. All I have to do is to walk up to the police station. They really dislike it when I lose my temper." Akane weakly smiles.  
  
"Don't go out of your way, Akane. I can probably find out from my grandfather, since he apparently knew the man." Kagome says.  
  
Akane begins to giggle and cough. Kasumi and Kagome reach out and touch her to comfort her.   
  
"I'm Ok." Akane finally gets out. "I just was thinking. I just helped to save the world without needing Ranma and Ranma won't be able to argue about it."  
  
"It was a team effort, Akane." Kagome gently says. "You were needed to distract the machines and bring your sisters cross, without that cross." She nods toward Kasumi.  
  
Kasumi waves her off. "I did nothing. I did not save the world." She mumbles, very embarrassed.  
  
Kagome smiles, "While you might not have to put up with your fiancee."   
  
Akane gasps, "how did you know about Ranma?"  
  
Kagome raises an eyebrow and she says, "You have been unconscious for hours, Akane. While we were waiting, I talked with your sisters."   
  
She thinks, 'one of these days, I've got to find a way to get Miroku to meet Nabiki. I wonder who could con whom.'  
  
"But, as I was saying, you might be able to brag about this to your fiancee, but I'm going to have to put up with my brother. Because without him . . . " she shakes her head.  
  
Akane coughs, and she says, "Ranma would never admit that a team was needed to win."  
  
"We're not boys." Kagome says with authority. Akane and Kasumi nod in agreement.  
  
Kasumi says, "You do know, sister, that Ranma isn't going to admit that this was a world threatening danger."  
  
Akane sighs. "You're right, Kasumi. He'll never admit I was in a world shaping fight. He'll downplay it totally."  
  
Kagome raises an eyebrow. "In less than a half-hour, the large mecha grew three fold and created three additional, if smaller, copies. It would have taken the police hours to do anything. Who knows how big it would have been and who many copies it would have made before the police even thought about storming that factory." She says. "We got him. And given enough time . . . well he might not have conquered the world, but stopping him would have caused a lot of damage."  
  
Akane and Kasumi nod.  
  
Akane says, "I do want to know about that jewel, Kagome. And why it's so important."  
  
Kagome nods, "I owe you that, Akane." She pauses, then continues, "I am sorry that you got hurt Akane." She begins to apologize.  
  
"Cough. Don't worry about Kagome." Akane smiles. "I wouldn't have missed this for anything." The smile grows, "This was the best fight I've been in since Ranma arrived. He's so overprotective . . . " She rolls her eyes.  
  
"I know the feeling . . . " Kagome ruefully agrees. "But, you're sure, Akane?"  
  
"Kagome, ever since Ranma arrived, I've been shoved around by him and his friends more often than I care to think about. This time, Kagome, this time, I was important, the fight was important, not some" She pauses as she thinks, "Not some ego-building, unless and stupid fight, that Ranma is always getting into." She looks at Kasumi, "Did you tell her about Gosukungi and that mecha he ordered via the mail?"  
  
Kasumi looks at Kagome and shrugs, "not yet, but I will."  
  
  
  
A doctor and couple of nurses enter the room. "If everyone could please leave the room?" one of the nurses orders/asks.  
  
"I'll talk to you later, Akane." Kagome says as she leaves the room.  
  
A couple of days later . . . Higurashi residence . . .   
  
RING RING  
  
"Kagome! Telephone! It's your new friend, Tendo Akane!" Mrs. H calls from the living room.  
  
"I'll get it, mother!"  
  
Kagome speaks into the phone. "Hi! Akane! Why the call?"  
  
  
  
"My idiot fiancee just showed up." Akane growls.  
  
"And"  
  
"And I told him why I was hurt."  
  
"So"  
  
"He took it the wrong way."  
  
"Great . . . just great . . . "  
  
"Sorry, Kagome. He just does not listen."  
  
"I assume he's on his way here?"  
  
"Yes, plus . . . Ummm. I don't now how to say this, so . . . He left just as I was explaining about the jewel and how Inu-yasha wants to change from a half-demon into a full demon."  
  
"Akane . . . I know that's important. But I just got finished cramming for a math test. So, please, spell it out for me."  
  
"He thinks the jewel will cure him."  
  
"That curse you mentioned . . . "  
  
"Yes . . . "  
  
"Sigh . . . I drop through the well for a few hours, Akane. That should give you time to get here and hopefully we can straighten this mess out without destroying my house . . . "  
  
"Good Idea . . . "  
  
"Bye, Akane, see you at sunset."  
  
"Bye, Kagome, see you then."  
  
Kagome hangs up.   
  
Later at sunset . . .   
  
Kagome and Inu-yasha appear at the bottom of the well.  
  
Ranma and Akane's heads appear at the top of the well.  
  
"HI! Guys!" Kagome cries as she waves at them. "It'll only take a minute or so to climb the rope ladder."  
  
Inu-yasha grabs Kagome and jumps out of the well and lands next to the other two. "Inu-yasha!" Kagome cries. "Give me some warning, next time, Ok?"  
  
"Feh." Inu-yasha grunts.  
  
"Where is that jewel?" Ranma asks in a rough voice. An anxious expression is on his face.  
  
Inu-yasha moves between Ranma and Kagome, snarling, and his hand on his sword hilt.  
  
"Sigh, Kagome, this is my idiot fiancee, Saotome Ranma. Ranma, this is my new friend, Higurashi Kagome." Akane says. Akane is still hurt. She is using a crutch to help support her right leg. And her left arm is in cast.   
  
"And this is my, I suppose you can him my protector, Inu-yasha." Kagome says as she jabs Inu-yasha with her elbow.   
  
"Feh." "Feh." The two boys are just staring at each other.  
  
"You're not getting the jewel, boy." Inu-yasha growls out.  
  
"It'll cure my curse, dog boy. I'll get it." Ranma growls out.  
  
Akane jabs her crutch between the two boys. "Stop! You two morons!" She turns to Ranma and whispers, "she does have a cat, Ranma. Do I tell her to get it?"   
  
His eyes widen in surprise, "You wouldn't?"  
  
"She's my friend. I'm not going to have you fight and destroy her house." She says in a low voice. "Now, Do I tell her to show me her cat?"  
  
Ranma looks rebellious, but he grits out, "no."  
  
"Ranma, Thank you." Akane whispers.  
  
Kagome seeing that Ranma and Akane are finished talking says, "now lets go outside and talk. There are some things that need to be explained."  
  
Later outside . . .   
  
Kagome is finishing her explanation, "Now, do you understand, Ranma. The jewel, while it might be able to cure you, is not complete."  
  
"And even if it was, I'd never use it like that." Inu-yasha growls out.  
  
Ranma glances angrily at Inu-yasha. "I'd use it that way." He growls out.  
  
Akane and Kagome look at each other and grimace. "Boys, If you have to fight. Don't do it here" Akane orders.  
  
"Yes, Please. I don't want to explain to my neighbors about the destruction of my family's house. So, please, take it elsewhere." Kagome reinforces Akane.  
  
"Little boy, there's a park in that direction." Inu-yasha points in the distance.  
  
"First one there gets the first move." Ranma glances that way. He jumps onto the roof and starts running. A smile is on his face. "Finally a fight . . . " he thinks.  
  
Inu-yasha smiles, "Finally a fight . . . " He starts to run toward the park.  
  
Akane and Kagome look at each other.  
  
"Boys" they say together.  
  
"Akane, normally I hide this. But, since you already know. I do have an album upstairs with pictures of the other side." She points to the well house. "Want to see them?"  
  
"Of course. We're not boys. Fighting isn't the only way to make friends." Akane smiles.  
  
'Ranma's father hasn't screwed things up. So, I don't have to worry about that. Having a friend, who isn't a rival for Ranma. That's a good thing . . . ' she thinks.  
  
'I don't have that many people I can talk about my life with. Having someone new to talk things over with. Especially since her life is as weird as mine. Making friends with Akane is a good thing.' Kagome thinks.   
  
As they go upstairs, Akane shyly asks Kagome, "you know that necklace on Inu-yasha... Do you think you could make one for Ranma?"  
  
The end . . .   
  
Hamm . . . a word about my general philosophy when writing stories. I try to be different. So, if this story went in a direction you didn't think it would, that's why.   
  
In this story, I wanted the girls to be the stars, so fights for the boys. I wanted to try to highlight the differences on how the girls handle things. Both girls at least try to be independent, so...  
  
Hopefully you, the reader, will like the story, even if I didn't turn into an Inu-yasha vs. Ranma fight.  
  
Which, for the record, Inu-yasha would win the first round. Ranma traditionally, doesn't do so good the first time he fights someone. He loses that first round a lot, but finally wins in the end.   
  
Ranma would find something (a new technique, a weakness in Inu-yasha's style, something) and win the second. Inu-yasha would compensate for Ranma's new knowledge and win the third . . . and so on . . .   
  
And in the process . . . well . . . such is how Ranma forms friendships.   
  
Inu-yasha's a little different, friends help him complete the jewel. Ranma wouldn't be able to do that. But, he might be able to protect Kagome on this side of the well. So, maybe, If Ranma protects Kagome, then maybe Ranma's a friend.  
  
And if someone wants to continue this . . .   
  
"Who's that new friend of Akane?" Soun asks Kasumi as he and Genma are playing Go.  
  
"Ohh, her name is Higurashi Kagome, father." She replies.  
  
'Hmmm . . . that name is familiar . . . didn't I make a promise to that family once . . . ' Genma thinks.  
  
"Who's Kagome's new friend?" Kagome's grandfather asks.  
  
"Her name is Tendo Akane, father. The boys name is, I believe, Saotome Ranma." Kagome's mother replies.  
  
  
  
'Saotome . . . I know that name. I'll have to check my records . . . ' He thinks.  
  
Thank you for reading  
  
jeff shelton 


End file.
